Production of high molecular-ordered stilbene oligomers for the study of their biological activity: total synthesis, bio-catalyzed synthesis and production by plant systems

Though the iconic stilbene resveratrol and its related dimers constitute a top storyline in the field of natural product research, resveratrol oligomers (condensation >2) have been left aside despite their higher biological activity compared to that of the monomers. This situation largely results from the difficulty of getting them in sufficient quantities to enable evaluation of their biological properties in vivo. We present here a synthetic and critical analysis of the methods used for the production of high molecular-ordered stilbene oligomers of potential biomedical interest, gathering the most salient data regarding the approaches employed to prepare them by total synthesis, use of biomimetic approaches or through plant systems.

Automated summary

Although the resveratrol oligomers, which have higher biological activity than the monomers, have been overlooked due to the difficulty in obtaining sufficient quantities for in vivo evaluation, a synthetic and critical analysis of the methods used for their production has been presented. The most salient data regarding the approaches employed to prepare these high molecular-ordered stilbene oligomers of potential biomedical interest, including total synthesis, biomimetic approaches, or plant systems, have been gathered.